Lesson of the Day

Pictures

Song Lyrics

Sounds

Al and Friends: What Do You Want to Do Today?
Fred Huggins: I Like You, Part 1
The French Prince of Bel-Air
Bad Haircut
Fred Huggins: I Like You, Part 2
Al and The Guy Boarded up in the Wall: What's That?
Madame Judy: Infomercial
Al, Ron Popeil, and Tony Little: Be Like Us!
Mike Levy and Al: The Amazing Four-tined Food Stabber
Al's Mailbag
The Adventures of Fatman Intro
The Origin of Fatman
Al and Friends: He Was Just Trying to Help
Al, Ron Popeil, and Tony Little: Only Hope

Stunts

Harvey performed no stunts this episode.

27 References

During Al's infomercial, the number to call is "555-0127."

Summary

Al is watching TV with his friends when they come across an
entertainment news piece on John Tesh. Al's friends start sharing
tales of meeting John Tesh, so Al feels compelled to contribute, as
well. He then says he knows John Tesh and promises to let them meet
the pianist.

Al realizes he's made a mistake, but isn't sure what to do about
it. The Guy Boarded Up in the Wall gives hima book of celebrity
prices, and John Tesh costs $82,000! Al seeks advice from Madame
Judy, who tells him to do what she does, make an infomercial.

So Al makes an infomercial, selling weird items, such as an
ear magnet, a device for shoelaces that tells you when the laces
are at the correct tautness, and a fork. He gaurantees that if people
don't like the products, they can get a full refund. Al quickly
earns $82,000.

Al gets ready to pay for John Tesh's appearance, but he discovers
that everyone is upset with his products. They come to Al's cave and
Al is forced to give them their money back. Then Al confesses to his
friends that he doesn't really know John Tesh and that he just
wanted to make his friends happy. They forgive him.

Then his friends leave, and one of the people seeking a refund is
John Tesh. Al is grumpy, so he doesn't look up and realize who it is!

This show also showcased the first appearance of Al's alterego,
Fatman!

The Adventures of Fatman

Al is a clerk at Donut World with a glandular problem. Whenever
he eats jelly-filled glaze donut, he turns into the superhero
crime fighter "Fatman." His sidekick is "Harvey the Wonder Hamster."
His arch-nemesis is his "Evil Uncle Frank," who has an assistant
"Procrastinator."

In this episode, Evil Uncle Frank has turned off all the
refrigerators and all the ice cream is melting. The town is
starting to be flooded. Al's idea is to go get some ice and re-freeze
the ice cream, but while he's away, Harvey saves the day by eating
all the ice cream.

Memorable Lines

The Hooded Avenger: Say, Al, what do you want to do today?
Al: Well, we could pour maple syrup all over the rug and then lick it
off.
Gal Spy: Nah. We did that yesterday.

Son:I assure you father, our cousin's tardiness mystifies me as
much as you.
Father: He was supposed to be here over an hour ago! Now our food is
cold!
Cousin: (Enters wearing a white, judicial wig and dressed in French
Imperialist garb) Excusez Moi, Je m'oublie le temps!
(In English, "Excuse me, I forgot the time." Thanks to
Ryan for the
French.)
Father: Why, you! (Rises from seat and starts chasing the
cousin)
Announcer: The French Prince of Bel-Air. Wednesdays at 8:30!

Mike Levy: Al, this next one I'm on Cloud 9 about. It's called the
amazing four-tined food stabber. This little item has a number of
practical uses and it goes great in your kitchen along with a knife
and spoon.
Al: The amazing four-tined food stabber really works! I use it! And
you can too!

Al: Well, I guess I learned a few valuable lessons here today.
One, I shouldn't make any promises I can't keep. And two, I should
never EVER do another one of those lousy infomercials. I mean, what
was I thinking?
Ron Popeil: That boy was our only hope.
Tony Little: No. There is another.
(Shot of Harvey playing on his cage.)

Plot and Review

Al, apparently suffering from temporary insanity,
lies to his friends, telling them that he's a close, personal friend of
John Tesh. Logically, the gang begs for an audience with the pop
star. Al promises to produce Mr. Tesh rather than taking the obvious
action of saying that his buddy Johnny is booked for appearances till next
year. In order to make enough money
to book an appearance, Al makes an infomercial.

Before one of the commercial breaks, the announcer
wonders aloud, "Why am I shouting?" It's about time that they addressed
this shouting habit. It doesn't make any sense. Unfortunately,
the fact that the announcer pondered this does not mean he is obligated
to stop. In fact, he continues to shout throughout the program.
I am afraid that this method of message conveyance makes the concept of
"pounding an idea home" a painful reality.

I am concerned that once again Al plays the
role of the person making some stupid mistake or bad judgement call.
Is the entire season going to be Al doing stupid things, then learning
his leason in some network-approved way? Why can't Al have the wisdom
every once in a while?

Much to my delight, though, this episode displayed
so much more creativity than the first one. It made me think that
they chose the episode that they did for the first one so that they could
get the blahs over with early. I mean, how could you not enjoy a
show with Tony Little, Caffeine Man? It makes me jumpy just watching
him. Plus, the ending of this episode rocked, what with John Tesh
making a cute little appearance, and Popeil and Little doing the Star Wars
allusion. Harvey is the remaining hope!

Random comments made while actually watching the show

Anyone ever wonder why Al never comes in in the middle of sentences
when he channel surfs?

I'd like to see the John Tesh-signed utility belt and the "No. 1 Fan"
gloves in future episodes. It'll never happen.

The Guy Boarded Up in the Wall remindes me of Floor-y from Pee-Wee.
Anyone remember Floor-y?

The Four-Tined Food Stabber is a direct relative of a bit I once saw
in Mad Magazine.

Why are Cartoon Harvey's eyes different sizes? Why is the announcer
still shouting?